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Though tragically short-lived, trumpeter Fats Navarro (1923-50) was a bebop star, famed for his fleet-fingered technique and lyrical imagination. Geoffrey Smith surveys his brief, brilliant career with the likes of Charlie Parker and Bud Powell.

1 hour

Last on

Sun 17 Jul 201600:00
BBC Radio 3

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Music Played

  • Fats Navarro

    Air Mail Special

    • The Fats Navarro Story.
    • Proper.
    • 1.

  • Fats Navarro

    Oop-Bop-Sh'Bam

    • The Fats Navarro Story.
    • Proper.
    • 11.

  • Fats Navarro

    Rue Chaptal

    • The Fats Navarro Story.
    • Proper.
    • 12.

  • Fats Navarro

    The Chase

    • The Fats Navarro Story.
    • Proper.
    • 12.

  • Fats Navarro

    The Squirrel

    • The Fats Navarro Story.
    • Proper.
    • 13.

  • Fats Navarro

    Nostalgia

    • The Fats Navarro Story.
    • Proper.
    • 20.

  • Fats Navarro

    Fats Blows

    • The Fats Navarro Story.
    • Proper.
    • 23.

  • Fats Navarro

    Half Step Down Please

    • The Fats Navarro Story.
    • Proper.
    • 1.

  • Fats Navarro

    Dextrose

    • The Fats Navarro Story.
    • Proper.
    • 3.

  • Fats Navarro

    The Tadd Walk

    • The Fats Navarro Story.
    • Proper.
    • 17.

  • Fats Navarro

    Jahbero

    • The Fats Navarro Story.
    • Proper.
    • 16.

  • Fats Navarro

    Stealin' Apples

    • The Fats Navarro Story.
    • Proper.
    • 20.

  • Fats Navarro

    Double Talk

    • The Fats Navarro Story.
    • Proper.
    • 3.

  • Fats Navarro

    Wail

    • The Fats Navarro Story.
    • Proper.
    • 14.

  • Fats Navarro

    A Night In Tunisia

    • The Fats Navarro Story.
    • Proper.
    • 21.

Performers:

Title: Air Mail Special
Artist: Fats Navarro 
Composers: Christian, Goodman & Mundy 
Album Title: The Fats Navarro Story 
Label: Proper Catalogue No: Properbox11 
Duration: 03’26 
Performers: Fats Navaroo, Shorty McConnell, Gail Brockman, Boonie Hazel, trumpet; Gerald Valentine, Taswell Baird, Howard Scott, Chips Outcalt, trombone; John Jackson, Bill Frazier, alto saxophone; Budd Johnson, Gene Ammons, tenor saxophone; Leo Parker, baritone saxophone; John Malachi, piano; Connie Wainwright, guitar; Tommy Potter, bass; Art Blakey, drums; Sarah Vaughan, vocals.

Title: Oop-Bop-Sh'Bam
Artist: Fats Navarro 
Composers: Gillespie/Brown/Fuller 
Album Title: The Fats Navarro Story 
Label: Proper Catalogue No: Properbox11 
Duration: 03’03 
Performers: Fats Navarro, Kenny Dorham, trumpet; Sonny Stitt, alto saxophone; Ray Abrams, tenor saxophone; Eddie De Verteuil, baritone saxophone; Bud Powell, piano; John Collins, guitar; Al Hall, bass; Kenny Clarke, drums.

Title: Rue Chaptal
Artist: Fats Navarro 
Composers: Clarke 
Album Title: The Fats Navarro Story 
Label: Proper Catalogue No: Properbox11 
Duration: 02’55
Performers: Fats Navarro, Kenny Dorham, trumpet; Sonny Stitt, alto saxophone; Ray Abrams, tenor saxophone; Eddie De Verteuil, baritone saxophone; Bud Powell, piano; John Collins, guitar; Al Hall, bass; Kenny Clarke, drums.

Title: The Chase
Artist: Fats Navarro 
Composers: Tadd Dameron
Album Title: The Fats Navarro Story 
Label: Proper Catalogue No: Properbox11 
Duration: 02’42 
Performers: Fats Navarro, trumpet; Ernie Henry, alto saxophone; Charlie Rouse, tenor saxophone; Tadd Dameron, piano; Nelson Boyd, bass; Shadow Wilson, drums.

Title: The Squirrel
Artist: Fats Navarro 
Composers: Tadd Cameron 
Album Title: The Fats Navarro Story 
Label: Proper Catalogue No: Properbox11 
Duration: 02’57
Performers: Fats Navarro, trumpet; Ernie Henry, alto saxophone; Charlie Rouse, tenor saxophone; Tadd Dameron, piano; Nelson Boyd, bass; Shadow Wilson, drums

Title: Nostalgia
Artist: Fats Navarro 
Composers: Fats Navarro 
Album Title: The Fats Navarro Story 
Label: Proper Catalogue No: Properbox11 
Duration: 02’42 
Performers: Fats Navarro, trumpet; Charlie Rouse, tenor saxophone; Tadd Dameron, piano.

Title: Fats Blows
Artist: Fats Navarro 
Composers: Fats Navarro 
Album Title: The Fats Navarro Story 
Label: Proper Catalogue No: Properbox11 
Duration: 02’48
Performers: Fats Navarro, trumpet; Charlie Rouse, tenor saxophone; Tadd Dameron, piano.

Title: Half Step Down Please
Artist: Fats Navarro 
Composers: Dameron/Hawkins 
Album Title: The Fats Navarro Story 
Label: Proper Catalogue No: Properbox11 
Duration: 03’01 
Performers: Fats Navarro, trumpet; JJ Johnson, trombone; Budd Johnson, alto saxophone; Coleman Hawkins, tenor saxophone; Marion De Veta, baritone saxophone; Hank Jones, piano; Chuck Wayne, guitar; Jack Leserg, bass; Max Roach, drums.

Title: Dextrose
Artist: Fats Navarro 
Composers: Dexter Gordon 
Album Title: The Fats Navarro Story 
Label: Proper Catalogue No: Properbox11 
Duration: 02’47
Performers: Fats Navarro, trumpet; Dexter Gordon, tenor saxophone; Tadd Dameron, piano; Nelson Boyd, bass; Art Mardigan, drums

Title: The Tadd Walk
Artist: Fats Navarro 
Composers: Tadd Dameron 
Album Title: The Fats Navarro Story 
Label: Proper Catalogue No: Properbox11 
Duration: 04’28
Performers: Fats Navarro, trumpet; Rudy Williams, alto saxophone; Allen Eager, tenor saxophone; Tadd Dameron, piano; Milt Jackson, vibraphone; Curley Russell, bass; Kenny Clarke, drums

Title: Jahbero
Artist: Fats Navarro 
Composers: Tadd Dameron 
Album Title: The Fats Navarro Story 
Label: Proper Catalogue No: Properbox11 
Duration: 02’52 
Performers: Fats Navarro, trumpet; Allen Eager, Wardell Gray, tenor saxophone; Tadd Dameron, piano; Curley Russell, bass; Kenny Clarke, drums, Chano Pozo, conga; Kenny Hagood, vocals.

Title: Stealin' Apples
Artist: Fats Navarro 
Composers: Fats Waller 
Album Title: The Fats Navarro Story 
Label: Proper Catalogue No: Properbox11 
Duration: 03’08
Performers: Fats Navarro, trumpet; Benny Goodman, clarinet; Wardell Gray, tenor saxophone; Gene Di Novi, piano; Mundell Lowe, guitar; Clyde Lombardi, bass; Mel Zelnick, drums.

Title: Double Talk
Artist: Fats Navarro 
Composers: McGhee/Navarro 
Album Title: The Fats Navarro Story 
Label: Proper Catalogue No: Properbox11 
Duration: 05’32 
Performers: Howard McGhee, trumpet; Fats Navarro, trumpet; Ernie Henry, alto saxophone; Milt Jackson, piano; Curley Russell, bass; Kenny Clarke, drums.

Title: Wail
Artist: Fats Navarro 
Composers: Bud Powell 
Album Title: The Fats Navarro Story 
Label: Proper Catalogue No: Properbox11 
Duration: 03’04
Performers: Fats Navarro, trumpet; Sonny Rollins, tenor saxophone; Bud Powell, piano; Tommy Potter, bass; Roy Haynes, drums.

Title: A Night in Tunisia
Artist: Fats Navarro 
Composers: Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Paparelli 
Album Title: The Fats Navarro Story 
Label: Proper Catalogue No: Properbox11 
Duration: 05’37
Performers: Fats Navarro, trumpet; Charlie Parker, alto saxophone; Bud Powell, piano; Curley Russell, bass; Art Blakey, drums.

Broadcast

  • Sun 17 Jul 201600:00
    BBC Radio 3

Podcast

  • Geoffrey Smith's Jazz

    Geoffrey Smith's Jazz - a weekly sequence exploring what makes great jazz great music